Coroners Bill

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: My right honourable friend the Minister of State (Harriet Harman) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am publishing two reports today. First, a summary report of responses received as part of the consultation on the draft Coroners Bill and the action the Government intend to take as a result. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It will also be made available on the Department for Constitutional Affairs website.
	In the Bill we aim to do three things. First, we will improve the way that the system serves the public interest and meets bereaved families' concerns. The Bill will give families involved in the inquest process a clear legal standing in the system. For the first time, they will have rights through a new appeals system, enabling them to challenge a coroner's decision, and a charter for bereaved people will set out the level of service in relation to information and consultation they can expect more generally. Secondly, we will strengthen coroners' work. The Bill will establish a transparent appointments system for a new cadre of whole time coroners, who will have to be legally qualified, and will provide them with improved powers of investigation and local medical support. Thirdly, we will create a national structure for coroners' work. For the first time there will be a chief coroner, supported by a chief medical adviser, who will provide national leadership for coroners, as the Lord Chief Justice does for judges. This will be supported by national standards, a coronial advisory council, a proper inspection system and national training for coroners and their officers.
	Over 150 organisations and individuals responded to the consultation, with further feedback received from regional conferences for those involved in delivering or funding the service, such as coroners, their staff, police and local authorities, and from a number of meetings held with voluntary sector organisations.
	As well as support for many of the proposals, such as creating a chief coroner and having a new appeals system for bereaved families, the responses have offered constructive additional suggestions for refining the proposals or for improving the service more generally. For example, as I announced on 30 January, coroners will be given stronger powers to enhance their lesser known public protection role. Bereaved families often express the wish that something positive might come out of a coroner's inquiry, and want relevant agencies to take preventive action so that the death of their family member is not in vain. For the first time, a legal obligation will be placed on organisations to respond to coroners' recommendations saying what steps they will take to prevent future deaths. Additionally, the Lord Chancellor will report to Parliament on the recommendations made to the chief coroner and the responses received.
	Other changes we have made include being clearer about the circumstances in which deaths of our citizens abroad should be investigated. To support this, coroners will be given greater powers to secure information from overseas authorities.
	The criteria for the type of case that requires a jury inquest will remain as at present. Inquests into deaths at work will therefore remain one of those for which a jury is summoned.
	We have identified other policy areas where we will consult further before a Bill is brought before Parliament; for example, the exceptional circumstances when coroners may have powers to impose restrictions on the reporting of the names of parties to inquests, new coroner area boundaries, the sharing of information between coroners and other authorities, disclosure of material to bereaved people, and improved support for families at inquests.
	The second report is a summary of the public pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill, which took place on 9 November. The discussion provided an opportunity to hear what bereaved relatives with recent experience of the coroner service thought of the changes proposed in the draft Bill. A key aim of the Bill is to ensure that the system serves bereaved relatives better. The objective of the public scrutiny was to satisfy ourselves that the proposals in the Bill will indeed achieve that objective. The findings of the panel will enable us to have a fully informed debate when a Bill is introduced, and emerge with better final plans as a result.

Department for Work and Pensions: Occupational Pensions

Lord McKenzie of Luton: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Pensions Reform (James Purnell) has made the following Statement.
	I have received representations from trustees of a small number of pension schemes who are in negotiation with employers in relation to insolvency and qualification for the financial assistance scheme that they would like some further time to complete this process.
	I therefore intend to extend the cut-off date for insolvency events to 31 August 2007. I will bring forward appropriate amendments in due course. In the mean time, I will not give effect to the current cut-off date and I will consider whether any further extension beyond 31 August 2007 may be required.

Local Government: Business Growth Incentive Scheme

Baroness Andrews: My honourable friend the Minister for Local Government (Phil Woolas) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am pleased to announce details of the allocation of grant to be awarded to authorities under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive scheme (LABGI) for 2006-07; the second year of a three-year initiative. LABGI is an incentive scheme that aims to encourage local authorities to increase business growth in their areas. The scheme generates a greater opportunity for local government and business to work together to deliver economic success and prosperity to their local community. The scheme is set to run for three years (2005-06 to 2007-08) and will allocate up to £1 billion to eligible local authorities in England and Wales. The money is genuinely additional and unring-fenced for authorities to spend on their needs as they see fit.
	Last year £126 million was paid to 278 eligible local authorities. This year I expect a total of £316 million to be shared between 328 local authorities, more than two and a half times the amount of unring-fenced grant as last year and to 50 more authorities across the country which have boosted businesses in their areas. We expect £1 billion to be spent on LABGI over the three years of the scheme.
	In September 2006 Ruth Kelly and John Healey announced plans to remove the scaling factor and ceiling in LABGI to make the scheme simpler and more rewarding for local authorities. However, due to the judicial reviews brought by Corby and Slough Borough Councils, we have had to retain the scaling factor for year 2 payments to protect the important incentive this scheme creates for authorities in this year and next year. We remain committed to the principle of removing the scaling factor but because of these authorities we cannot rule out retaining it to deal with the conclusions of the judicial reviews.
	Qualifying local authorities are being advised today on the level of grant they can expect to receive from a total allocation of £316 million. These payments will be made on 26 March, later than planned due to the added complication to the calculation methodology required to address this threat of litigation from Corby and Slough Borough Councils. John Healey and I are also writing separately to those Members of the House whose constituent local authorities have qualified for LABGI grant. Detailed allocations are attached and being placed in the House Libraries.
	We are considering the future of LABGI as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007.
	
		
			 Receiving authority areas: Grant Amount (£) 
			 Adur - 
			 Allerdate 603,330 
			 Alnwick 42,947 
			 Amber Valley 679,400 
			 Arun 535,036 
			 Ashfield 1,263,717 
			 Ashford - 
			 Aylesbury Vale 715,426 
			 Babergh 126,993 
			 Barking and Dagenham 27,140 
			 Barnet 3,440,754 
			 Barnsley 200,140 
			 Barrow-in-Furness 15,193 
			 Basildon - 
			 Basingstoke & Deane - 
			 Bassetlaw 508,280 
			 Bath & North East Somerset 1,100,573 
			 Bedford 245,896 
			 Bedfordshire 936,142 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed 151,786 
			 Bexley 279,963 
			 Birmingham 1,800,509 
			 Blaby 479,640 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,732,306 
			 Blackpool 664,950 
			 Blyth Valley 498,899 
			 Bolsover 224,710 
			 Bolton 1,495,578 
			 Boston 804,444 
			 Bournemouth 203,671 
			 Bracknell Forest 907,542 
			 Bradford 6,566,274 
			 Braintree - 
			 Breckland 168,599 
			 Brent 1,462,735 
			 Brentwood 46,938 
			 Bridgnorth 220,208 
			 Brighton & Hove 636,067 
			 Bristol 298,372 
			 Broadland 515,631 
			 Bromley 437,322 
			 Bromsgrove 128,786 
			 Broxbourne 237,983 
			 Broxstowe 559,726 
			 Buckinghamshire 1,644,305 
			 Burnley 509,222 
			 Bury 1,115,839 
			 Calderdale 1,334,610 
			 Cambridge 1,536,051 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,375,899 
			 Camden 740,859 
			 Cannock Chase - 
			 Canterbury 1,406,967 
			 Caradon 307,208 
			 Carlisle 859,340 
			 Carrick 311,310 
			 Castle Morpeth 18,035 
			 Castle Point 133,845 
			 Charnwood 1,610,568 
			 Chelmsford 212,260 
			 Cheltenham 884,695 
			 Cherwell - 
			 Cheshire 2,295,041 
			 Chester 416,746 
			 Chesterfield 32,078 
			 Chester-le-Street 124,545 
			 Chichester 172,769 
			 Chiltern - 
			 Chorley 90,072 
			 Christchurch 122,357 
			 City of London - 
			 Colchester 485,447 
			 Congleton 503,219 
			 Copeland - 
			 Corby 327,960 
			 Cornwall 607,307 
			 Cotswold 398,003 
			 Coventry 3,280,599 
			 Craven 229,124 
			 Crawley 451,986 
			 Crewe and Nantwich 1,130,027 
			 Croydon 902,010 
			 Cumbria 960,170 
			 Dacorum - 
			 Darlington 1,907,522 
			 Dartford - 
			 Daventry 1,101,346 
			 Derby - 
			 Derbyshire 1,481,525 
			 Derbyshire Dales 884 
			 Derwentside 196,120 
			 Devon 1,446,490 
			 Doncaster 4,537,992 
			 Dorset 305,102 
			 Dover - 
			 Dudley 805,791 
			 Durham 685,101 
			 Durham county 1,816,173 
			 Ealing 7,602,378 
			 Easington 1,474,667 
			 East Cambridgeshire - 
			 East Devon 252,922 
			 East Dorset - 
			 East Hampshire 525,056 
			 East Hertfordshire 140,337 
			 East Lindsey 470,659 
			 East Northamptonshire 312,516 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 1,275,334 
			 East Staffordshire 517,996 
			 East Sussex 271,229 
			 Eastbourne 76,106 
			 Eastleigh - 
			 Eden - 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 1,098,251 
			 Elmbridge 1,004,747 
			 Enfield 872,470 
			 Epping Forest 802,925 
			 Epsom and Ewell - 
			 Erewash 372,247 
			 Essex 1,806,455 
			 Exeter 893,842 
			 Fareham 11,670 
			 Fenland 411,545 
			 Forest Heath 115,385 
			 Forest of Dean 147,362 
			 Fylde 374,280 
			 Gateshead 6,655,220 
			 Gedling 755,321 
			 Gloucester 1,273,773 
			 Gloucestershire 1,939,552 
			 Gosport 193,781 
			 Gravesham 40 
			 Great Yarmouth 611,150 
			 Greenwich - 
			 Guildford 473,235 
			 Hackney 1,211,805 
			 Halton 38,672 
			 Hambleton 162,262 
			 Hammersmith & Fulham - 
			 Hampshire 1,056,492 
			 Harborough 876,633 
			 Haringey 1,448,266 
			 Harlow 454,616 
			 Harrogate 495,490 
			 Harrow 206,158 
			 Hart - 
			 Hartlepool 369,637 
			 Hastings 94,273 
			 Havant - 
			 Havering - 
			 Herefordshire 1,397,713 
			 Hertfordshire 1,730,460 
			 Hertsmere 880,517 
			 High Peak 615,310 
			 Hillingdon - 
			 Hinckley and Bosworth 604,919 
			 Horsham 254,652 
			 Hounslow 899,243 
			 Huntingdonshire 453,785 
			 Hyndburn 87,027 
			 Ipswich 442,107 
			 Isle of Wight 1,005,931 
			 Isles of Scilly 21,600 
			 Islington - 
			 Kennet 195,882 
			 Kensington & Chelsea 6,706,732 
			 Kent 2,715,585 
			 Kerrier 21,280 
			 Kettering 1,562,054 
			 Kings Lynn and West Norfolk 394,231 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1,550,553 
			 Kingston upon Thames 733,583 
			 Kirklees 2,476,522 
			 Knowsley 957,049 
			 Lambeth - 
			 Lancashire 2,484,860 
			 Lancaster 437,359 
			 Leeds 7,403,873 
			 Leicester 78,413 
			 Leicestershire 2,231,173 
			 Lewes - 
			 Lewisham 505,634 
			 Lichfield 695,247 
			 Lincoln 905,773 
			 Lincolnshire 2,146,338 
			 Liverpool 1,969,420 
			 Luton 469,948 
			 Macclesfield - 
			 Maidstone 1,418,174 
			 Maldon - 
			 Malvern Hills 36,248 
			 Manchester 17,692,616 
			 Mansfield - 
			 Medway 571,418 
			 Melton 83,716 
			 Mendip 346,576 
			 Merton 723,433 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 833,944 
			 Mid Devon 151,764 
			 Mid Suffolk 268,805 
			 Mid Sussex 213,120 
			 Middlesbrough 885,866 
			 Milton Keynes 1,323,148 
			 Mole Valley 46,283 
			 New Forest 463,509 
			 Newark and Sherwood 392,963 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 2,066,030 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 2,681,649 
			 Newham 1,016,524 
			 Norfolk 3,050,400 
			 North Cornwall 267,990 
			 North Devon 619,439 
			 North Dorset 15,918 
			 North East Derbyshire 349,877 
			 North East Lincolnshire 2,067,098 
			 North Hertfordshire - 
			 North Kesteven 137,062 
			 North Lincolnshire 1,574,431 
			 North Norfolk 361,133 
			 North Shropshire 499,547 
			 North Somerset 202,500 
			 North Tyneside 972,884 
			 North Warwickshire - 
			 North West Leicestershire 100,781 
			 North Wiltshire 799,332 
			 North Yorkshire 1,408,845 
			 Northampton 860,588 
			 Northamptonshire 3,072,104 
			 Northumberland 621,214 
			 Norwich 3,203,873 
			 Nottingham 1,658,169 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,369,230 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth 1,406,442 
			 Oadby and Wigston 290,701 
			 Oldham 689,674 
			 Oswestry 162,843 
			 Oxford 587,561 
			 Oxfordshire 964,662 
			 Pendle 329,178 
			 Penwith 58,941 
			 Peterborough 2,136,825 
			 Plymouth 3,319,967 
			 Poole 1,265,441 
			 Portsmouth 296,230 
			 Preston - 
			 Purbeck 150,198 
			 Reading - 
			 Redbridge 448,224 
			 Redcar & Cleveland 1,094,797 
			 Redditch 309,294 
			 Reigate & Banstead - 
			 Restormel 187,687 
			 Ribble Valley 60,527 
			 Richmond upon Thames 379,330 
			 Richmondshire 102,528 
			 Rochdale 172,775 
			 Rochford 328,063 
			 Rossendale 660,706 
			 Rother 247,487 
			 Rotherham 699,425 
			 Rugby 741,884 
			 Runnymede - 
			 Rushcliffe 737,195 
			 Rushmoor - 
			 Rutland 97,406 
			 Ryedale 269,158 
			 Salford 1,119,037 
			 Salisbury 172,120 
			 Sandwell 2,325,617 
			 Scarborough 731,699 
			 Sedgefield 364,959 
			 Sedgemoor 513,777 
			 Sefton 223,822 
			 Selby 725,138 
			 Sevenoaks - 
			 Sheffield 2,795,068 
			 Shepway - 
			 Shrewsbury & Atcham - 
			 Shropshire 443,011 
			 Slough - 
			 Solihull - 
			 Somerset 744,361 
			 South Bedfordshire 645,080 
			 South Buckinghamshire 927,071 
			 South Cambridgeshire - 
			 South Derbyshire 336,428 
			 South Gloucestershire - 
			 South Hams 284,397 
			 South Holland 336,010 
			 South Kesteven 865,272 
			 South Lakeland 348,781 
			 South Norfolk 20,611 
			 South Northamptonshire 240,168 
			 South Oxfordshire - 
			 South Ribble 629,110 
			 South Shropshire - 
			 South Somerset 241,090 
			 South Staffordshire 420,861 
			 South Tyneside 815,254 
			 Southampton - 
			 Southend-on-Sea 273,848 
			 Southwark 3,292,845 
			 Spelthorne - 
			 St Albans 291,864 
			 St Edmundsbury 311,003 
			 St Helens 1,270,964 
			 Stafford 1,678,583 
			 Staffordshire 3,354,698 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 227,361 
			 Stevenage 91,831 
			 Stockport 3,947,832 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1,567,960 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1,911,808 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 144,804 
			 Stroud 700,254 
			 Suffolk 1,228,839 
			 Suffolk Coastal 284,309 
			 Sunderland 816,485 
			 Surrey 1,599,065 
			 Surrey Heath - 
			 Sutton - 
			 Swale 92,933 
			 Swindon 338,651 
			 Tameside 3,609,906 
			 Tamworth 386,571 
			 Tandridge 307,482 
			 Taunton Deane 245,327 
			 Teesdale 35,558 
			 Teignbridge 333,865 
			 Telford & Wrekin 970,176 
			 Tendring 592,325 
			 Test Valley 301,527 
			 Tewkesbury 62,915 
			 Thanet 1,342,132 
			 Three Rivers - 
			 Thurrock - 
			 Tonbridge and Mailing 197,517 
			 Torbay 340,522 
			 Torridge 135,912 
			 Tower Hamlets - 
			 Trafford - 
			 Tunbridge Wells 431,554 
			 Tynedale 352,370 
			 Uttlesford 217,370 
			 Vale of White Horse 787,553 
			 Vale Royal 964,331 
			 Wakefield 1,092,574 
			 Walsall 1,641,731 
			 Waltham Forest 840,243 
			 Wandsworth 966,353 
			 Wansbeck 89,226 
			 Warrington - 
			 Warwick 945,869 
			 Warwickshire 1,808,034 
			 Watford 393,055 
			 Waveney 724,767 
			 Waverley 912,892 
			 Wealden 83,340 
			 Wear Valley 249,810 
			 Wellingborough 1,299,544 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 1,013,536 
			 West Berkshire - 
			 West Devon 41,322 
			 West Dorset 231,385 
			 West Lancashire 778,313 
			 West Lindsey 529,947 
			 West Oxfordshire 389,105 
			 West Somerset 64,193 
			 West Sussex 1,075,976 
			 West Wiltshire 112,873 
			 Westminster 10,189,165 
			 Weymouth and Portland 48,919 
			 Wigan 316,546 
			 Wiltshire 661,492 
			 Winchester 458,047 
			 Windsor & Maidenhead 421,544 
			 Wirral 1,265,712 
			 Woking 76,338 
			 Wokingham - 
			 Wolverhampton 2,289,970 
			 Worcester 84,263 
			 Worcestershire 886,332 
			 Worthing 326,148 
			 Wychavon 921,344 
			 Wycombe 1,285,468 
			 Wyre 476,085 
			 Wyre Forest 150,291 
			 York 30,357

Roads: M11

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Douglas Alexander) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	I am today announcing a Highways Agency consultation on plans for widening the M11 between junctions 6 to 8. Copies of the consultation documents have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Over the next two decades, the east of England is set to grow substantially in terms of both housing and jobs. The draft east of England plan, which is currently out to consultation on the proposed modifications of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, contains full details.
	This growth can be accommodated only by providing the necessary infrastructure in terms of effective road and rail links within the region and to London. In this context, my department has been working with the Government Office for the East of England and developers to identify what road improvements might be needed in the region. Our analysis indicates that the M11 between junctions 6 to 8 will become very congested in the period before 2021 unless improvements are implemented. The expected growth of Stansted airport, including the possibility of a second runway, will add to that congestion.
	Regional growth and the expansion of Stansted airport will also impact on the West Anglia main line in the next two decades. The Eastern Regional Planning Assessment for the Railway, published in February 2006, took account of these factors in identifying the priorities and options for further development on this route up to 2021.
	My announcement today demonstrates the Government's commitment to the longer term development and economic prosperity of the east of England region and the need for strong transport links. Widening of the M11 is also important to the growth of Stansted airport and this consultation fits with BAA's parallel announcement today on its surface access strategy for a second runway. In line with the policies in The Future of Air Transport White Paper, BAA will pay a contribution to the costs of these improvements to the extent that the airport will benefit.
	In addition to options for widening the M11, the Highways Agency is also consulting on plans to improve the junction access to the airport from the M11 and A120. The airport is expected fully to fund this development.
	Further detailed work on M11 widening and junction access will be undertaken in light of the public consultations.

Shipping: MSC "Napoli"

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Transport (Stephen Ladyman) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	This Statement is to update the House on the progress of the salvage operation for the MSC "Napoli" and follows on from my previous Written Statement, issued on 25 January, as well as the oral Statement I made on 1 February.
	Since my last Statement, work has continued on removing oil and containers from the MSC "Napoli". Virtually all the heavy fuel oil has now been removed, with only small residual amounts left in hard-to-reach spaces. Removal of diesel oil continues. The risk of a major oil pollution incident with the potential to cause widespread environmental damage has therefore passed.
	Work on removing containers from the ship is continuing as quickly as the prevailing weather conditions will allow. As of the evening of Monday 26 February, all 853 deck containers have now been removed and work has commenced on removing containers from the holds. One hundred and fourteen containers have fallen overboard since the "Napoli" was grounded. We do not believe that the contents of any of these present a significant risk to either human health or the environment. It is likely that a small number of additional containers could be lost, depending on future weather conditions, and plans are in place for their recovery should this occur.
	Where containers are found on the beach, Coastguard rescue teams and contractors go on site with security officers and the police to ensure that the area is completely shut off to the public. The police are warning the public that they will use their powers of arrest of anyone attempting to remove articles from beaches. The normal arrangements in terms of recovery of wreck material through voluntary salvage do not apply in the case of the MSC "Napoli", now that comprehensive salvage contracts have been placed by the owners of the ship (and the consignors) to recover all items from the vessel, including those lost overboard and washed ashore.
	On 23 February, reports were received that some debris from the cargo of the MSC "Napoli" had washed ashore along the coastline from Bournemouth through to the Isle of Wight. Local authorities are being advised to contact the ship owner's contractor for shoreline clean-up.
	Vessels equipped with side-scan sonar continue to search for those containers that were lost overboard and are believed to have sunk. Despite some disruption from severe weather, this work is proceeding well and several containers have already been located.
	I should like to express once again my gratitude to Robin Middleton, the Secretary of State's representative for maritime salvage and intervention, as well as all of those who were involved in the rescue, salvage and recovery operations. It is thanks to their efforts that there has been no loss of human life and that the impact on the environment has been far less severe than could otherwise have been the case.